Parents' Experience in Making Decisions About Electroconvulsive Therapy for Adolescents with Depression: A Qualitative Study

Parents face significant challenges in deciding whether to consent to ECT for their adolescent children. In this study, parents were influenced by the perceived risks of ECT, social stigma, treatment costs, media representations, and adolescents' understanding of ECT. Mental health nurses working in clinical settings can use these findings to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the decision-making process of parents of adolescents, improve parents' decision-making experience, and provide more individualized, person-centered care. These results can also guide the future development of targeted, nurse-led health education and other programs that better respond to the needs and experiences of parents.